1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention described herein pertain to the field of pest management and the monitoring of pest populations. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention enable an easily disassembled navel orangeworm egg trap to facilitate cleaning, inspection, maintenance, reloading, and repair.
2. Description of the Related Art
Navel orangeworm are the primary pest of pistachios and almonds and are a serious pest of walnuts. The larvae and pupae of navel orangeworm overwinter in old nuts left on the trees or on the ground after harvesting. The adults emerge in the spring, and the female adults lay their eggs on the nuts remaining on the trees or on twigs close to the old nuts. When the eggs hatch, the larvae of the navel orangeworm crawl to the inside of the nut and dig into the kernel of the nut. Navel orangeworm causes damage by feeding on nut kernels and increase processing costs.
Monitoring the population of navel orangeworm is a critical part of a pest management program. Accurate predictions of navel orangeworm populations are necessary for timing insecticide sprays to maximize the control of the larvae. Accurate timing is particularly important for modern insecticides which are effective for shorter periods of time.
The navel orangeworm egg trap is the primary tool nut growers use to monitor and control navel orangeworm populations. A conventional navel orangeworm egg trap typically is a narrow plastic vial with screened vents near the center of the vial. The vial is filled with an ovipositional bait attractant which draws the female navel orangeworm. Two end-caps attach to the ends of the plastic vial to seal the contents of the vial.
Orchard workers place the navel orangeworm egg traps on tree branches throughout an orchard. Volatile compounds from the ovipositional bait attractant escapes through the vents of the egg traps, which lures the female navel orangeworm to the egg traps. The female navel orangeworm lay their eggs on the grooved sections of the trap. Workers routinely examine the egg traps and count and record the number of eggs laid on each egg trap. Workers then remove the eggs from each egg trap and return the egg traps to the tree branches. The egg count information is analyzed over time to provide growers with an estimation of the total navel orangeworm population in the orchard. Alternatively, workers can monitor the development of the eggs laid on the trap. This population information enables growers to accurately manage pest control activities such as determining the time to apply insecticides.
One drawback of the commercially available traps is that they may be difficult to inspect, clean, and repair. Periodically, workers in the field are required to replace the attractant material and clean the navel orangeworm trap. Workers may remove the two end-caps from the trap, and then push the remaining attractant out of the trap. Inspection of the egg trap may be rendered difficult as the narrowness of the vial provides the workers with only an oblique view of the inner surfaces of the trap. Cleaning may be problematic as damage to the screens may result if workers attempt to aggressively clean the egg trap. Repair to the screens may also be difficult as workers are unable to directly access the inner surfaces of the trap. This inability to clearly see and directly access the inner surfaces of the vials may make inspection, cleaning, and repair problematic and time consuming.
For at least the limitations described above, there is a need for a navel orangeworm egg trap that easily disassembles for easy inspection, cleaning and repair.